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NCAA Tournament Release

WAC WOMENS TENNIS NOTEBOOK

FRESNO STATE EARNS NCAA TOURNAMENT BID The Fresno State women's tennis team will play Oregon in an NCAA Tournament first round match in Stanford, Calif., on Friday, May 13, at 10 a.m.

The 45th-ranked Bulldogs (16-8) are playing in their 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament. They earned an automatic bid into the annual event by winning their fourth straight WAC Tournament on April 23 with a 4-0 victory over Rice in Honolulu.

Should the Bulldogs win their opening match, they will take on the winner of top-seeded and defending national champion Stanford and Army in the second round on Saturday, May 15, at noon. The Cardinal, who enter the NCAA's riding a 50-match winning streak, feature seven nationally ranked singles players.

Fresno State enters the NCAA Tournament playing its best tennis of the season. The team has won eight in a row, defeating their opponents by a combined 42-7 score.

MUSCOLINO QUALIFIES FOR NCAA INIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT Boise State's Luke Shields, WAC Freshman of the Year, earned an automatic qualifier from the Mountain Region. Shields and doubles partner Thomas Schoeck also earned an automatic qualifier from the Mountain Region. Rice's Robert Searle earned an at-large bid from the South Central Region.

The men's singles and doubles tournament will be held May 25-30 in College Station, Texas, following the conclusion of the team tournament.

Tulsa's Daniela Muscolino earned an automatic qualifer from the central region.

The women's singles and doubles competition will be held May 23-28 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., following the team tournament.

ITA RANKINGS Fresno State is the highest ranked WAC team coming in at No. 45. Rice, who advanced to the WAC Tournament championship game is the second-highest ranked WAC school in the latest ITA rankings with a No. 48 ranking. Tulsa is ranked No. 66, while SMU is ranked No. 68.

RICES DISESA HONORED BY ITA Rice junior Blair DiSesa earned the Southwest Region ITA Arthur Ashe Award which is given to players who display great leadership and sportsmanship. The ITA gives the award to a player who shows good sportsmanship as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements. Rices Robert Searle earned this award on the mens side in the South Central Region. Boise State senior Beck Roghaar also earned the honor for the Mountain Region. Searle was the WAC Player of the Year and was also named first team all-WAC in singles and doubles.


CHAMPIONSHIP REVIEW Fresno State claimed its fourth-straight WAC Women's Tennis Championship, defeating Rice, 4-0, at the Hawaii Tennis Complex in Honolulu. The second-seeded Bulldogs used their best match of the year to knock off top-seeded Rice. Fresno State ties BYU for most overall WAC titles with five and for consecutive titles with four.

The Bulldogs (ITA #53) grabbed the doubles point with 8-3 victories at the Nos. 1 and 3 courts. Fresno State's top duo of Lucia Sainz and Courtney Jantz, ranked No. 51 in the ITA national rankings, defeated Kimberley Patenaude and Medeja Egic.

Fresno State took a commanding 3-0 lead as Lucia Tallo and Jacqui Haskett made quick work of their matches at the Nos. 2 and 5 courts. With three singles matches closely contested, Katarina Winterhalter pulled out a 7-5, 7-6 (2) victory over Blair DiSesa at No. 1 to clinch the championship.

2005 POST-SEASON HONORS

First-Team all-WAC
Singles
Daniela Muscolino, Tulsa
Blair DiSesa, Rice
Lauren Fitzgerald, Hawaii
Katarina Winterhalter, Fresno State
Jenny Langer, SMU
Lucia Sainz, Fresno State

Doubles
Lucia Sainz/Courtney Jantz, Fresno State
Daniela Muscolino/Carla Zabaleta, Tulsa
Alissa Ayling/Megan Biorkman, Boise State

Second-Team all-WAC
Singles
Carla Zabaleta, Tulsa
Svetlana Kouzmenko, SMU
Carolina Pongratz, Boise State
Ashley Tavita, San Jose State
Tracie Chong, Rice
Nadja Woscheck, Boise State

Doubles
Nadja Woschek/Tiffany Coll, Boise State
Courtney Koenigsfeld/Ashley Tavita, San Jose State
Tracie Chong/Kimberley Patenaude, Rice

Player of the Year:
Daniela Muscolino, Jr., Tulsa

Freshman of the Year:
Carla Zabaleta, Tulsa

Coach of the Year:
Roger White, Rice

FRESNO STATE PREPARES FOR NCAA TOURNAMENT By virtue of winning its fourth WAC Tournament in a row, Fresno State (16-8) guaranteed itself of a spot in the NCAA Tournament for a 10th consecutive season.

Fresno State is competing in its 10th NCAA Tournament in a row. Heading into last season's tournament, the Bulldogs had lost in the second round four consecutive years, but they busted that streak in dramatic fashion, reaching the round of 16 for just the second time ever. To win in the second round, Fresno State had to upset host and 11th-seeded California 4-3, doing so when Courtney Jantz came back from a 2-5, love-40 deficit in the third set of the deciding match to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. The team's run ended in the round of 16 with a 4-2 loss to sixth-seeded Georgia on its home courts. The Bulldogs are 8-9 in NCAA Tournament matches.